Workflow Update Brings Ability to Interact with Any Web API

Fastest beta to release ever? Really, I barely installed the Testflight release and the folks from Workflow already submitted this fantastic update with one of the features I appreciate the most: POST requests.

You need to know about 2 request types: GET and POST. When you search a query in a website, that's often a GET request, you're getting results and the parameters are in the URL, just like our URL schema actions here.

A POST request doesn't expose the parameters in the URL, so we use it for authentications, when you use your login and password in a site, it (should) submit this information to the server in a POST request.

Several APIs enforce POST requests for actions that submit any sort of information, such as posting content on Medium.

I couldn't find the time to put together some examples for you (or any post lately and I apologize for that), so I leave you to Viticci's overview at MacStories and also look for Jordan Merrick's examples at his blog.

Hazel is 10 years old and 50% off

Hazel, one of my favorite Mac apps, celebrates its 10th anniversary today with a 50% off discount, bringing the app's price down to the 2006 cost. For $16 and a recently released new version, Hazel is a no-brainer if you ever use files on a Mac and this is a one-day offer, so hurry up, blow these candles.

Watermarking Images With Workflow

Jordan Merrick shows how to add watermarks to images using one of the most powerful actions Workflow has: Overlay Image:

It's possible to create a workflow that can automate the entire process of adding a watermark to images using the Overlay Image action, a more recent addition to Workflow's collection. This particular action is very customizable, providing options for the dimensions, location and angle of the overlaid image.

Drafts Screencasts

The screencast series in which David Sparks guides you through Drafts is over and you can binge-watch it on a slow weekend, eager to learn how to get more done on iOS.

Searching App Store from Launchbar

Most of my sparse moments of writing happen in front of my Macbook and after I dismissed Text Expander – due to the changes in its business model, I’ve reconsidered my writing workflow. Rather than moving my snippets to Keyboard Maestro, I started over and detached myself from most of the shortcuts, yet one group niggled me: links to apps.

Associate and Amazon Affiliate Links

John Voorhees followed the lessons from his previous project, Blink, and released an app dedicated to Amazon affiliate links: Associate. Support for x-callback-url didn't make the cut for the 1.0 release, but was added in a subsequent update and I have some actions for you.

On Workflow and IFTTT

What a flawless patch and how awfully late I got to the party, as I waited for the WWDC confetti to settle! Workflow now works as a trigger for IFTTT recipes and you can connect it to more than 300 channels, although one third of them are for home appliances and gadgets. Still, there are still plenty of services to play with and here are some of the recipes and workflows I made.

Workflow 1.5: App Store Automation, Trello and Ulysses Actions, Audio Metadata, Safari View Controller, and More

Federico wrote a complete review of Workflow's newest version, filled with workflows to download:

Unsurprisingly for the Workflow team, this release adds over 20 new actions and dozens of improvements. Some of them are new app actions based on URL schemes, while others introduce brand new system integrations (such as iTunes Store, App Store, and Safari View Controller) and web actions for the popular Trello team collaboration service.

On the official blog announcement, a lot of praise for the new Workflow Composer., a huge improvement in performance:

We rebuilt the Workflow Composer from the ground up using ComponentKit for dramatically improved performance and reliability. Now your workflows open instantly no matter how long they are. More importantly, these efficiency gains mean your workflows run considerably faster than ever before!

As someone who built outrageously long workflows, I've spotted all sorts of bugs while I stacked actions and these all vanished now. This is the update I've been waiting for and I couldn't praise it enough.

Playing with Templates in Drafts

Each case of automation is unique to the individual and how you organize your life, and the objects around it, is a personal subject. When it comes down how we treat our text files, I doubt that freeform writing covers all the reports, posts, journal entries or most of the notes you jot down.

This post will show a simple way to create dynamic structures in Drafts that you can use whenever you have a specific use for a text model.

Mending Apple Music Recommendations

I'm a huge fan of Apple Music and the feature I like the most is the music recommendations. Every day I listen to 2 or 3 playlists suggested in the "For You" session and they're always spot on. It was much to my surprise that I found out this appreciation was not universal in a post by David Sparks. I started investigating what matters for good Apple Music recommendations and, maybe, I can help you improve your playlists.